Cribbing device



9 W5@ P. H. HAMILTON 2,506,325

CRIBBING DEVICE P. H. HAMILTON CRIBBING DEVICE May 9, 19.50

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed OCL. l, 1946 1NVENToR-`l 13. HHczmillo/c.

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Patented May 9, 1950 ATENT OFFICE CRIBBING DEgVlCE Perry H. Hamilton, Baltimore, ML, osegnon by mesne assignments,y to Poor & Company, h15- cago, Ill., a corporation of DelawareV Application October 1, 1946, Serial' No.` 700,571

Claims.

This invention relates to track maintenance accessories, and in particular to a device customarily knownas a cribbing tooL It is more or less well known that it frequently becomes necessary to remove the ballast between the ties of railroad track, whether it be rock, sand, or gravelJ either for the purpose of removing and replacing the ballast or incidental to the replacement of old ties. While various apparatus and devices have been heretofore pro--v posed to accomplish. this tedious and laborious work, nevertheless, they are open to the objection that they are cumbersome, impractical, or expensive and it is more or less usual, 12?Y perform` the cribbing operation with the aid of a pick and shovel or similar instruments.

Accordingly,y a primary object of the present invention to provide a cribbing device which may be readily and conveniently carried( and manipulated by an individual workman assigned to this phase of track maintenance. In that connection, it is proposed to provide a two- ;oert deviee including lfuieruining abutment means xed to a rail to cooperate with a man ually manipulated cribbing tool, preferably in the nature of a fork which may be selectively positioned at various locations with respect to the fixed :fulcruming means to enable the ballast to. be conveniently and rapidly loosened and moved toward the outer ends of adjacent ties.A

A further object of the invention is to provide a iulcruming member in the nature of a bar adapted to be releasably secured to the base of a rail and having reversely related fulcruming notches on opposite sides thereof so that a single fulcruming member may be disposed at either the outer or gauge Side of the reii to permit the ballast to be removed from between the rails toward the ends ci the ties; while, in other forms separate ulcruming members may have their respective fulcruming notches all disposed in the. same direction to permit o f said separate devices, being separately applied to the gauge' side of the rail and the outer side.

A general object is to provide a simple and practical form of apparatus which lends itself to standard manufacturing practices and which' may be readily manipulated and handled by relatively unskilled workmen.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawv ings,v in which:

Figure 1 is a more or lessV diagrammatic pian view of a section of railway track illustratingv how a single fulcruming member may be arranged relative to the rails and ties.`

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the lino 2-f2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the fucrurning member shown in Figure 1.

Figure i isl a cross sectional View taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 iS e. plan View illustrating e rst modified formv of the invention adapted to be applied to the outer side of the rail to permit the ballast to be cleared from the outerside of the rail toward the ends of the ties..

Figure 6 is a top plan view ot the second modif. fied form of the invention which permits clearine the ballast, from the center of the track towards. the ends of the ties. since it is eppIied to the gauge side of the rail.

t Figure '7 is a front elevation of the crbbing ool.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the construction shown in Figure '7.

Figure 9 is a cross section on the line 9-9 of Figure 8;

.Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, of the drawings.

According to all embodiments of the invention shown in the drawing, the same essentially n-v` cludes a fulcruming member A and a ballastl moving implement B conveniently hereinafter described as a cribbing tool.` The cribbing tool B may be used with any one of Jelle. three forms` without structural change.

The fulcruming member A shown in Figure 1Y is intended to be Secured to either side of the base of the rail R between adjacent ties T and the shank of the cribbing fork B is intended to be engaged with any one of a plurality ofA fulcrurnf. ing notches at the same side of ,the fulcruming member so that the workman can apply the, cooperating tool in a selected notch and then with a rocking or sweeping motion loosen and propel or move the ballast toward the outer ends of the ties. In Figure 1 the fulcruming member is shown in dotted lines as it is applied to the outer side of the rail and in f ullV lines as it is applied to the gauge side of Vthe rail. After the ballast has been cleared away from the outer side of the rail toward the outer ends of the ties it is removed and then placed at the gauge side of the rail as shown in full lines in Figures 1 and 4.

Referring first to the fulcruming member A, it will be observed that the same generally includes a rail clamp comprising a rail base engaging bracket I having opposite upstanding abutment portions 2 and 3 for receiving the base of the rail. To aid in positioning the clamp beneath the rail, the abutment 2 is preferably provided with a wedge-like point 2a to assist in digging into the ballast beneath the rail and opening it up to permit of the clamp being applied.

The aforesaid clamp comprising the parts I, 2 and 3 is carried by an elongated substantially inverted T-shaped body or bar 4 consisting of a vertical flange 5 and the opposite horizontal anges 6. The inner end of the bar 4 is provided at its junction with the clamp, with a transversely disposed clamping head l threaded to receive the screw elements 8. As shown in the drawing, these clamping elements may be provided with cranked handles 9 to facilitate manipulation, but, it will, of course, be understood that any convenient form of handle or head may be used with equal facility and eiciency to rotate the screws.

Referring to the inverted T-shaped bar 4, it will be observed that the outer edges of the horizontal flanges 6 thereof are provided with a series of fulcruming notches IE! and Ille which in the form of the invention shown in Figure l open in opposite directions, thereby to provide a plurality of fulcruming points which may be selectively engaged by the shank of the cribbing tool to facilitate the rocking or oscillation thereof in such manner as to shift the ballast to the outer side of the roadbed.

As will be observed from Figures '7, 8, and 9, the cribbing tool B comprises a handle or shank II formed at its lower end with a plurality of spaced tynes I2 arranged to form a fork. The upper end of the handle or shank I I is provided with a conical point I3 so that the tool may be used after the fashion of a pick or crowbar when desired. The body of the handle or shank II is provided with a vertically ascending series of shoulders I4 over the lower portion of its length, namely, that portion above and adjacent to the tynes I2 of the fork.

After the fulcruming member A (Fig. l) has first been secured to the outer side of the rail R, with the bar portion thereof extending outwardly of the rail, the cribbing fork B, in the hands of the workman, may be applied to the fulcruming member by selectively placing the shouldered portion of the handle in any one of the notches I 0 with a selected shoulder I4 engaging beneath the portion of the flange 6 from which the notch l0 is formed, and the tool rocked or reciprccated relative to the bar. To start the operation, one of the lower shoulders I4 on the handle of the fork engages the contiguous edge portions of a selected notch, and as the workman rocks the tool to loosen andV move the ballast, and the cribbing operation proceeds to lower the level of ballast between the ties, the operator simply utilizes a shoulder higher up in the series in order to obtain non-slipping leverage as the fork is further rocked or twisted in the ballast relative to the body of the fulcruming member.

As previously indicated, the notches in the fulcrurning member may be so arranged as to enable a single tool to be used to clear the ballast from between the ties outwardly of the outer side of the rail, or, on the other hand, the bar may be reversed in relation to the rail and the notches I Ila may be used so that when the tool is placed to have the fulcruming body extend inwardly from the gauge side of the rail, the ballast can be readily cleared from the middle of the roadbed toward the ends of the ties, by placing the handle of the cribbing tool in the notches Illa. These contingencies are both generally illustrated by the diagrammatic illustration of Figure l, and Figure 4.

Figure 5 of the drawings illustrates a modification wherein a single fulcruming member A' is provided with notches Ii!b facing in one and the same direction, the rail clamp being intended for application to the outer side of the rail. With this arrangement of fulcruming notches, it will be apparent that when the clamping portion of the tool is applied to the outer side of the rail base, the fork B may be placed in the notches Iiib and the ballast moved toward the cuter ends of the ties by rocking the tool.

Figure 6 illustrates a fulcruming member A2 wherein the notches Ic at both sides of the bar also open in the same direction, and the clamping head is intended for application to the gauge side of the rail.

Since the structural features of Figures l and 4, and Figures 5 and 6 are the same, like references denote similar parts. In all three forms the relationship and cooperation of the tool B with its related fulcruming member is the same.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, and it will, of course, be apparent that changes in the form and proportion and other details may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A cribbing device for moving ballast, comprising, an elongated bar adapted to be secured to the base of a rail and having a plurality of fulcruming notches on opposite sides thereof, said notches being located at opposite side edges of the bar and opening in reverse directions,

means adjacent one end of the bar for securing the same to the base of a rail, and a ballast moving tool including a handle and a fork portion, said handle upwardly from the fork portion s having a series of longitudinally spaced shoulders for engaging the bar at a selected one of said notches, whereby manually rocking the tool relative to the bar loosens and shifts the ballast,

2. A device for use in moving ballast between railway ties, said device comprising an elongated,

rigid bar including a substantially flat portion of material width and shallow depth, means adjacent to one end of said bar for securing the same rigidly to a rail with the bar extending substantially horizontally laterally from the rail in alinement with the space between a pair of ties and with said substantially flat portion of said bar disposed in a horizontal plane, said flat portion of said bar having therein and opening through each side edge thereof a series of notches, the notches in one edge of said bar being shaped to provide fulcrum shoulders facing toward one end of the bar and the notches in the other edge of said -bar being shaped to provide fulcrum shoulders facing toward the other end of the bar.

3. A device for use in moving ballast between railway ties, said device comprising an elongated, rigid bar to extend at one end beneath a rail and provided adjacent to said end with a shoulder to engage one edge of the rail ange, a cross member rigid with said bar, a pair of screw clamp members carried by said cross member at points spaced outwardly from opposite sides of said bar, respectively, for engagement with the rail to clamp the bar rigidly to the rail with the bar extending substantially horizontally laterally from the rail and to hold the bar against swinging sidewise relative to the rail, said bar having therein and opening through an edge thereof at points spaced apart therealong a series of notches providing fulcrum shoulders to be engaged by a prying implement to move the ballast between the ties.

4. A device of the character described, comprising, a bar, means for fastening said bar to a railway rail with the bar extending substantially horizontally and laterally with respect to the rail, said bar havingY in each side thereof a series of notches, the notches in one side of said bar being shaped to provide fulcrum shoulders facing toward one end of the bar and the notches in the other side thereof being shaped to provide fulcrum shoulders facing toward the other end of the bar.

5. A device of the character described, comprising, an elongated rigid bar provided at one end with a shoulder to engage one side portion of a railway rail, a pair of screw clamp members carried by said bar for engagement with an op- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 853,840 Taylor May 17, 1907 1,010,208 Wood Nov. 28, 1911 1,137,682 Waddell Apr. 27, 1915 1,627,156 Disbrow et al. May 3, 1927 1,866,651 Hultgren et a1. July 12, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 418,083 Germany Sept. 18, 1925 

